Swiss media: was it racism, sexism, ageism – or all three? ghanavisions.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ghanavisions.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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BY: Ajoa Yeboah-Afari
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At long last, on February 15, the long awaited, historic announcement came from the World Trade Organization: “The General Council agreed by consensus to select Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria as the seventh Director-General.”
Dr Okonjo-Iweala, is the first woman and the first African to be appointed to that position.
On March 1, she begins her four-year, renewable tenure in Geneva, Switzerland, with the organization which deals with global rules of trade between nations.
The following are excerpts from Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s very long, awe-inspiring biography:
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Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 30 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America.
Can This Grandmother Save The World?
As the World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally announced the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director General this week, a Swiss newspaper received her with a disgraceful headline: “This Grandmother will become the boss of the WTO,” with her photograph under the headline.
The headline sparked an outrage, forcing the editors to modify their position: “This 66-year-old Nigerian will head WTO.”
At least, three Swiss newspapers – Luzerner Zeitung, Aarguaer Zeitung and St. Galler Tagblatt – fetched their headlines from the gutter, making slight changes only after they were called out for racism.
They removed the sting but left the poison. That’s their grief. The candidacy of Okonjo-Iweala for the position of DG has been one of the most contentious in the history of the 26-year-old organisation. And partly for the sort of maliciously dumb reason reflected in the headline of the Swiss newspapers.
On January 9, 2021, operatives of Amotekun – the quasi-state police outfit of south-western Nigeria – went to Aiyete in Ibarapa LGA, Oyo state, on a mission to arrest suspected kidnappers based on “intelligence” from the local communities. At the end of the operation, Alhaji Usman Okebi and his two sons were killed and several houses burnt in Okebi settlement. There were reports of gunfire exchange. Now, I have tried to narrate this incident in the simplest form. However, what I have just written in one paragraph is very loaded. If I do not decode it, you may never understand the undercurrents and the implications. You would think it was a simple case of crime fighting.
As the World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally announced the appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as director-general this week, a Swiss newspaper received her with a disgraceful headline: “This Grandmother will become the boss of the WTO,” with her photograph under the headline.
The headline sparked an outrage, forcing the editors to modify their position: “This 66-year-old Nigerian will head WTO.”
At least three Swiss newspapers –
Luzerner Zeitung, Aarguaer Zeitung and
St Galler Tagblatt – fetched their headlines from the gutter, making slight changes only after they were called out for racism.
They removed the sting, but left the poison. That’s their grief. The candidacy of Okonjo-Iweala for the position of DG has been one of the most contentious in the history of the 26-year-old organisation. And partly for the sort of maliciously dumb reasons reflected in the headlines of the Swiss newspapers.